This new journey, a Condé Nast Traveler Editor’s Itinerary, is a gratifying exploration of Indonesia’s diverse culture and beautiful island life, from Bali to the Raja Ampat Islands and Central Java. Our Indonesia experts have arranged rare insider visits to temples, villages, and artists’ homes, and have lined up a whole host of active outings to fully engage us in this paradisiacal archipelago.

We start in and around Ubud, a wonderland of captivating art galleries, museums, temples, and markets. Led by an inveterate expert, we take in the highlights, then hike through breathtaking rice terraces to a sacred waterfall. For complete immersion, we don local dress for a Hindu ceremony and enjoy a private Balinese dance lesson.

Next we fly to eastern Indonesia and board the 151-foot Alila Purnama, a hand-built, phinisi-style schooner. For 6 delicious days we cruise the Raja Ampat Islands, stopping to scuba dive, snorkel, fish, swim, kayak, hike, bird-watch, lounge on white-sand beaches, and learn the island way of the life.

After disembarking, we jet to Yogyakarta, renowned for Javanese arts, such as batik making and shadow puppetry. Historic sites are ours to discover, including the 9th-century Hindu temple of Candi Prambanan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the impressive Buddhist Borobudur Temple at sunrise (an unusual treat). To end on a high note, we play the gamelan in the village of Kaliopak, then pack our bags contemplating another art we’ve enjoyed practicing this trip: the art of relaxing.